Donald Trump returns to campaign trail and discredited promise to make Mexico pay for border wall

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Donald Trump returned to the campaign trail on Tuesday night with a familiar refrain, criticising Mexico for failing to stop the flow of illegal immigrants to the US and promising to make Mexico pay for his proposed border wall.

And the result was the same: Enthusiastic cheers from supporters in Nashville, Tennessee, followed by a swift promise from the Mexican president that no such thing would ever happen.

Democrats hope an unpopular president could help them wrest back control of the Senate and the House of Representatives.

Donald Trump gestures to attendees as he arrives onstage at a rally in Nashville, TennesseeCredit:
Luke Sharrett/Bloomberg

But Mr Trump returned to the talking points that gave him a shock win in 2016.

"I don't want to cause a problem, but in the end, Mexico's gonna pay for the wall ," he said to roars of approval. "They do absolutely nothing to stop people from going through Mexico, from Honduras and all these other countries... They do nothing to help us.”